‘Family pet' leads the way

Former racehorse Distime claims victory with stand-in jockey George Chatterton in the saddle, while Rowan Cope has a “brilliant run” for second

- LUCY ELDER

GEORGE CHATTERTON proved a perfect understudy in claiming the 2021 Melton Hunt Club Ride crown after receiving an 11th-hour call-up.

“This means the world to all of us, but my brother should be doing it,” said amateur jockey George, who piloted the evergreen 15-year-old former racehorse Distime to victory for the Belvoir.

“[My brother] Billy’s been mapped out for it for the last three months, but he’s unfortunately injured his ankle, so I got the call to ride this week. I was more nervous last night about this than I probably have been for anything riding-related for a while.”

He added those nerves stemmed in part from the “real pressure” he put on himself of not wanting to let his brother down.

“When I crossed the line, the first person I wanted to see was Billy because this is his thing. So hopefully he’ll be doing it and winning next year,” said George, taking home further prizes for highest-placed under-25, thoroughbred and retrained racehorse.

Distime was bought as a schoolmaster for George’s first season point-to-pointing in 2018/19 and retired in 2020 following a solid career of 44 starts under Rules and between the flags.

“He is an absolute legend,” said George. “He hunts, does a bit of team chasing and this was his big day as well. He’s like a family pet.”

The pair tracked the eminent partnership of Rowan Cope and Arthur for the majority of the race, following them across the more direct lower route on the hilly course, before seizing their chance.